The invention relates to a TE (transverse excitation) laser amplifier of substantially symmetric construction and symmetric discharge current distribution. The amplifier consists of a system of electrodes lying in, for example, a gas stream and having at least two mutually opposite discharge surfaces. The system of electrodes has a high-voltage connection leading outside of the housing and is located in the resonance or discharge chamber of the housing. During laser operation, this chamber has mirrors at one of its end faces that reflect the laser beam in the direction of the other end face and cooperate with partially transparent mirrors fastened in the region of the other end face. During amplifier operation, the mirrors are replaced by terminal windows that permit passage of the amplified laser radiation. The mirrors and the windows are located in the free space between the electrodes.
Laser amplifiers of this type are described in DE Offenlegungsschrift No. 27 53 304 and European Pat. No. 0 001 032. However, these laser amplifiers, while otherwise usable, have a housing made of glass, ceramic or quartz which are materials that are not easy to work with during fabrication. GB Pat. No. 1 301 207 also describes a similar laser.